Harnessing Synergistic Biostimulatory Processes: A Plausible Approach for Enhanced Crop Growth and Resilience in Organic Farming

Simple Summary Demand for organically grown crops has risen globally due to its healthier and safer food products. From a sustainability perspective, organic farming offers an eco-friendly cultivation system that minimizes agrochemicals and producing food with little or no environmental footprint. However, organic agriculture's biggest drawback is the generally lower and variable yield in contrast to conventional farming. Compatible with organic farming, the selective use of biostimulants can close the apparent yield gap between organic and conventional cultivation systems. A biostimulant is defined as natural microorganisms (bacteria, fungi) or biologically active substances that are able to improve plant growth and yield through several processes. Biostimulants are derived from a range of natural resources including organic materials (composts, seaweeds), manures (earthworms, fish, insects) and extracts derived from microbes, plant, insect or animal origin. The current trend is indicative that a mixture of biostimulants is generally delivering better growth, yield and quality rather than applying biostimulant individually. When used correctly, biostimulants are known to help plants cope with stressful situations like drought, salinity, extreme temperatures and even certain diseases. More research is needed to understand the different biostimulants, key components, and also to adjust the formulations to improve their reliability in the field. Demand for organically grown food crops is rising substantially annually owing to their contributions to human health. However, organic farm production is still generally lower compared to conventional farming. Nutrient availability, content consistency, uptake, assimilation, and crop responses to various stresses were reported as critical yield-limiting factors in many organic farming systems. In recent years, plant biostimulants (BSs) have gained much interest from researchers and growers, and with the objective of integrating these products to enhance nutrient use efficiency (NUE), crop performance, and delivering better stress resilience in organic-related farming. This review gave an overview of direct and indirect mechanisms of microbial and non-microbial BSs in enhancing plant nutrient uptake, physiological status, productivity, resilience to various stressors, and soil-microbe-plant interactions. BSs offer a promising, innovative and sustainable strategy to supplement and replace agrochemicals in the near future. With greater mechanistic clarity, designing purposeful combinations of microbial and non-microbial BSs that would interact synergistically and deliver desired outcomes in terms of acceptable yield and high-quality products sustainably will be pivotal. Understanding these mechanisms will improve the next generation of novel and well-characterized BSs, combining microbial and non-microbial BSs strategically with specific desired synergistic bio-stimulatory action, to deliver enhanced plant growth, yield, quality, and resilience consistently in organic-related cultivation

Influence of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on growth, nutrient uptake and disease suppression of some selected vegetable crops

A reduction of the agrochemicals input along with selecting suitable cultivars and species is imperative to increase the sustainability of crop production. The influence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) on seedling emergence growth, nutrient uptake and disease incidence of some selected vegetables viz. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), Brinjal (Solanum melongena), Chilli (Capsicum frutescens) and Data (Amaranthus oleraceus) has been evaluated. The results showed that AMF inoculation could increase almost all growth parameters. The seedling emergence, plant height, length and weight of root and shoot of mycorrhiza inoculated vegetables were comparatively higher than that of non-inoculated control plants. The mycorrhizal inoculation suppressed root rot, damping off and leaf spot disease of Okra, Tomato, Brinjal, Chilli and Data almost to half extent. Meanwhile, an increased nutrient (N, P, K, Fe, and Zn) uptake was recorded with the inoculated plants. Among the inoculated vegetables, comparatively higher N, P, and K uptake were observed in Okra and Brinjal whereas Zn and Fe uptake was found higher in Okra and Data respectively. Therefore, for sustainable vegetable production, introducing bio-fertilizer by using arbuscular mycorrhiza inoculation would be one of the most efficient techniques for replacing chemical fertilizer to meet the nutrient deficiency in nutrient deficient soils

Synergistic effects of biochar and potassium co-application on growth, physiological attributes, and antioxidant defense mechanisms of wheat under water deficit conditions

Global wheat production faces a severe threat from drought stress, necessitating innovative strategies for enhanced crop resilience. This study examined the synergistic impact of biochar and potassium co-application on the growth, physiological attributes, and antioxidant defense system of wheat under water deficit conditions at crown root initiation (CRI), anthesis, and grain development stage. Drought-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, particularly pronounced at the CRI stage, adversely affected all growth stages. At CRI, co-application of biochar and foliar potassium delivered significant improvements in growth parameters, including increased plant height (15.4%), spike length (50%), grain yield (43.0%), photosynthetic performance (chlorophyll content 125.8%), and relative water content (11.2%), compared to untreated drought-exposed counterparts. The combined application of biochar and potassium effectively reduced hydrogen peroxide production, electrolyte leakage, proline accumulation, and malondialdehyde generation, while increasing relative water content and glutathione levels under both well-irrigated and drought stress conditions. Furthermore, the combined biochar and potassium treatment was effective in mitigating oxidative stress and enhancing physiological resilience in wheat, particularly during the anthesis stage of drought stress. Specifically, the combined treatment ameliorated the effects of drought by reducing ROS levels through enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities and elevating osmoprotectants levels. The synergistic modulation of tissue osmotic balance and relative water content holds promise for mitigating drought-induced stress, offering an innovative and practical strategy for resilient wheat production in water-limited environments

Impact of Exogenous Application of Plant Growth Regulators on Growth and Yield Contributing Attributes of Summer Tomato

The experiment was conducted with the intention of investigating the impact of different concentrations and combination of the plant growth regulators on growth and yield contributing attributes of summer tomato. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Resign (CRD) with four replications. Different plant growth regulators viz. T0= Control, T1 = 20 ppm NAA, T2 = 20 ppm GA3 and T3 = 20 ppm NAA + 20 ppm GA3 were used in the study. The growth and yield contributing characters were significantly influenced by the application of plant growth regulators. At harvest, the longest plant (86.90cm), number of cluster plant-1(9.95), bud cluster-1(8.01) flower cluster-1(5.94) and fruits plant-1(16.48) and fruit yield plant-1(309.04g) were found in BARI Hybrid Tomato-8. At harvest, the maximum plant height (88.30cm) was found in T2 and the number of number of cluster plant-1(10.12), bud cluster-1(8.26)flower cluster-1(5.99) and fruits plant-1(17.65) and fruit yield plant-1 (328.99 g) were found with the application of 20 ppm NAA+20 ppm GA3, whereas the minimum for these characters were recorded from control plants. In case of combined effect of variety and plant growth regulator, the maximum plant height (90.79 cm) was found in V4T2 which was statistically similar to V4T3, and the number of number of cluster plant-1(11.68), bud cluster-1(8.80) flower cluster-1(6.78) and fruits plant -1(23.95) and fruit yield plant-1(474.60 g) were found V4T3 whereas the minimum for all these characters were found in control plants. Therefore, it can be suggested that 20 ppm NAA along with 20ppm GA3 can be effective in enhancing growth and yield of summer tomato

Genetic Variability, Heritability, Character Association and Morphological Diversity in Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench)

Genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance, correlation coefficient analysis, path coefficient analysis and genetic divergence between yield and its contributing traits were studied in 28 okra genotypes. The phenotypic coefficient of variations was found slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variations for all characters studied, indicating that the apparent variation is not only genetic but also influenced by the growing environment in the expression of the traits. High genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation was observed primary branches (43.91 and 33.64) and fruit yield per plant (37.51 and 32.48). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance in percent of mean in number of plant height (97.32 and 29.98), no. of fruit per plant (88.55 and 50.44), fruit yield per plant (74.99 and 57.94), seed per fruit (73.02 and 34.00) and primary branches (58.70 and 53.10) suggested that these characters would be considered for varietal selection. The correlation studies revealed that fruit yield per plant showed significant positive correlation with no. of average fruit weight, number of fruit per, plant height and significantly negative correlation with seed per fruit at genotypic and phenotypic level which can be considered for selection of a good variety. Path analysis revealed days to 50% flowering, plant height, number of fruit per plant, average fruit weight had direct positive effect on pod yield per plant, indicating these traits are the main contributors to fruit yield per plant. The divergence value for cluster analysis showed the highest inter-cluster distance between clusters I and V which indicates that these genotypes may provide high heterosis in hybridization and expected to show wide variability in genetic architecture. The selection of high yielding genotypes should give emphasis to the days to flowering (earliness), number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant and less seeds per fruit

Nutritional composition and sensory evaluation of cake fortified with moringa oleifera leaf powder and ripe banana flour

Micronutrient deficiency is raising concern worldwide, especially among children and pregnant women in Africa, Southern Asia, and certain developing countries, posing a significant risk to the nutritional status. This study aimed to develop cake fortified with Moringa leaf powder (MOLP), ripe banana flour (RBF) and assessed the effect of MOLP and RBF on the nutritional composition as well as consumer acceptability. The nutritional, mineral, vitamin A and sensory attributes of MOLP and RBF fortified cakes were assessed. Proximate analysis results showed that the addition of MOLP and RBF significantly increased from 5.79% to 8.90% for protein, 1.25% to 1.66% for ash, 2.70% to 6.98% for fiber, and 53.0% to 60.88% for carbohydrate. However, the fat and moisture content decreased from 20.16% to 13.06% and 17.77% to 13.54%, respectively. The mineral contents (phosphorus, potassium, iron, and zinc) increased significantly in the fortified cake compared to the unfortified control. The vitamin A content (3.40–5.62 mg/100 g) of the fortified cakes was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the vitamin A (1.62 mg/100 g) content of the unfortified cake. Although MOLP and RBF substitution raised most of the nutritional contents, the maximum consumer acceptability was recorded in the unfortified control, which was statistically similar to C2 (1.5% MOLP and 2% RBF) substitution in terms of shape, sweetness, flavor, mouth feel, and overall acceptability. The results indicated that cake supplemented with 1.5% MOLP and 2% RBF provided the enriched nutritional quality and potentially contributed to the improvement of food and nutritional security of the vulnerable populations. Furthermore, utilizing ripe bananas with peels in cake recipes will help to encourage the recovery of food waste for functional food preparation. Keywords: food fortification; Moringa leaf powder; malnutrition; food security; sensory evaluation

Stimulatory Effect of Seed Priming as Pretreatment Factors on Germination and Yield Performance of Yard Long Bean (Vigna unguiculata)

Seed priming is a technique that can potentially facilitate rapid and consistent germination and subsequent plant growth. The present study investigates the effect of different seed priming treatments and processing times on germination and growth efficiency for the effective cultivation of Yard-long bean. Thirteen different primings were used to determine the stimulatory effect on the germination and yield performance of the Yard-long bean. The priming treatments included control (without priming); hydro priming for 12, 18, 24, and 30 h; halo priming (1% CaCl2) for 12, 18, 24, and 30 h; and halo priming (2% KNO3) for 12, 18, 24, and 30 h. Studies showing the highest level of germination (86.66%), germination index (35.69), seedling vigor index (1833.80), number of branches (7.20), and pod yields per plant (1836.00 g) were recorded from halo priming with 1% CaCl2 at 12 h treatment. Halo priming with 1% CaCl2 at 12 h is thus considered to be a compatible priming technique for the germination of seeds and a higher yield of Yard-long bean

Waste-derived nanobiochar: a new avenue towards sustainable agriculture, environment, and circular bioeconomy

The greatest challenge for the agriculture sector in the twenty-first century is to increase agricultural production to feed the burgeoning global population while maintaining soil health and the integrity of the agroecosystem. Currently, the application of biochar is widely implemented as an effective means for boosting sustainable agriculture while having a negligible influence on ecosystems and the environment. In comparison to traditional biochar, nano-biochar (nano-BC) boasts enhanced specific surface area, adsorption capacity, and mobility properties within soil, allowing it to promote soil properties, crop growth, and environmental remediation. Additionally, carbon sequestration and reduction of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture can be achieved with nano-BC applications, contributing to climate change mitigation. Nonetheless, due to costeffectiveness, sustainability, and environmental friendliness, waste-derived nano-BC may emerge as the most viable alternative to conventional waste management strategies, contributing to the circular bioeconomy and the broader goal of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, it's important to note that research on nano-BC is still in its nascent stages. Potential risks, including toxicity in aquatic and terrestrial environments, necessitate extensive field investigations. This review delineates the potential of waste-derived nano-BC for sustainable agriculture and environmental applications, outlining current advancements, challenges, and possibilities in the realms from a sustainability and circular bioeconomy standpoint

Stimulatory Effect of Seed Priming as Pretreatment Factors on Germination and Yield Performance of Yard Long Bean (Vigna unguiculata)

Seed priming is a technique that can potentially facilitate rapid and consistent germination and subsequent plant growth. The present study investigates the effect of different seed priming treatments and processing times on germination and growth efficiency for the effective cultivation of Yard-long bean. Thirteen different primings were used to determine the stimulatory effect on the germination and yield performance of the Yard-long bean. The priming treatments included control (without priming); hydro priming for 12, 18, 24, and 30 h; halo priming (1% CaCl2) for 12, 18, 24, and 30 h; and halo priming (2% KNO3) for 12, 18, 24, and 30 h. Studies showing the highest level of germination (86.66%), germination index (35.69), seedling vigor index (1833.80), number of branches (7.20), and pod yields per plant (1836.00 g) were recorded from halo priming with 1% CaCl2 at 12 h treatment. Halo priming with 1% CaCl2 at 12 h is thus considered to be a compatible priming technique for the germination of seeds and a higher yield of Yard-long bean